Crawley Open House has been on the front line serving the homeless and
vulnerable of Crawley and West Sussex for 26 years. They operate a 24 bed high
support hostel, a busy drop-in day centre open 365 days a year, 4 move-on
houses and a community outreach team. They cover a huge swathe of West and Mid
Sussex – there is no Horsham Open House, Haywards Heath Open House or East
Grinstead Open House….

Last year they managed to resettle around 60% of hostel residents to
somewhere more appropriate and permanent. There were over 24,000 support
appointments for residents, day centre users and those staying on the streets.
No-one locally does more to stand alongside those who have fallen or are
falling through the cracks in society, for whatever reason.

Crawley Open House are a medium-sized independent charity and rely
heavily on the generosity of local Trusts, places of worship, schools,
individuals and companies. They receive some statutory funding but are working
hard to diversify their income streams so as not to be too dependent on it, in
an uncertain political and economic climate.

They are about to start a building project to create a new day centre
built around a life-skills and employability workshop for the homeless and
vulnerable. They have raised around three quarters of the money required, and
are busy fundraising for the rest.

They have remained open throughout the Coronavirus crisis, with a full
hostel, 4 full move-on houses and almost 100 people temporarily accommodated
locally by Mid Sussex, Horsham and Crawley Councils. Whilst costs and workload have
increased it has been harder to raise funds and accept donations as a result of
the pandemic, a lack of community events and the damaged local economy. Any
donations towards their vital work through the ‘Hundred For The Homeless’
campaign will therefore be massively appreciated.